Ledley King is up there with the greatest defenders in Tottenham Hotspur's history and he has revealed that he worked with the club's new young defensive talent, Cameron Carter-Vickers, for a short time within the academy.

King, one of England's best defenders in his time despite a chronic knee injury which dogged his career, is one of the coaches in the U18 set-up at the club.

Carter-Vickers is the new kid on the block, with the 19-year-old having been described by manager Mauricio Pochettino as having the potential to become the "best defender in England". He has played in two EFL Cup and two FA Cup matches so far this season, starting all four.

King, still only 36, revealed that he worked with the USA youth international for a short time during his days in the U18 side before he moved into the U23 development side.

"You got the impression it was kind of like a man against boys with him at times. He was physically strong, he had all the tools to enable him to do a job as a defender and just felt it was a case of him continuing to work hard, keep progressing and that he'd get his opportunity eventually," he said in the club's matchday programme.

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"For me, what I liked most about him was his temperament. There were no frills with him, he just wanted to learn and improve. We sometimes sat down and went over his game on the computers, we watched the clips and he was always someone who was eager to listen and learn."

Tottenham Hotspur U18s coach Ledley King has been impressed by Cameron Carter-Vickers

The teenager faced one of the toughest tests of his career so far in Saturday's dramatic 4-3 FA Cup victory against Wycombe Wanderers as he battled throughout with powerful striker Ade Akinfenwa.

While he was adjudged to have fouled Sam Wood to hand the Chairboys a penalty, Carter-Vickers did not hide as the game went on and grabbed an assist with a header to Heung-Min Son to score Spurs' first goal.

"Probably his stand-out point as a youngster was his physical strength and I always felt that he would have no problem dealing with men's football, but that's not the only part of his game," explained King.

"He's comfortable with the ball, he's improving that part of his game, his distribution is good and, for his height, he's someone who is very good in the air and has a very good leap. I'd say he has all the attributes needed to go on and become a good Premier League player."

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King agrees with Pochettino that Carter-Vickers can go on to become a major player for Tottenham in the future.

"I'm really happy with the progress he's made. He'll be learning every day in training with the first team, feeling comfortable around them and although he's going to have to be patient and wait for his chance," he said.

"When he does get his opportunity he'll want to put in performances like he has done this season where he's looked really assured. He's there with a manager who trusts young players and feels that he can give them an opportunity if they're still working hard and showing progress.

"He's obviously got some good players to try to dislodge in his position but with time I feel that he will be someone who can play a big part in the club's future."